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Our Research

Small Business Majority uses extensive scientific opinion and economic research to provide small business owners, advocates, policymakers and others with the information and tools they need to navigate through complex small business issues. We commission opinion research on the national and state levels to determine small business owners’ views on a range of topics including taxes, budget and the economy; healthcare; immigration; energy; entrepreneurship; workforce issues; and government accountability. Our research also examines the effect these policies have on small businesses and the economy as a whole.

We use our research findings to communicate the need for strong small business-friendly measures to policymakers, and we educate small business owners and entrepreneurs on how these polices shape their bottom line. We also take our data and build support among those in the small business community for laws that will help small firms grow their business and make them more financially viable in this economy.

On Jan. 21, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in its Citizens United decision that corporations are free to spend unlimited sums of money in elections. According to opinion polling released by the American Sustainable Business Council, Main Street Alliance and Small Business Majority, two-thirds of small business owners see this decision as bad for small business. The poll also shows small business owners overwhelmingly believe corporations have been given too much freedom to spend money that directly influences political campaigns.

Introduction

America’s small business owners are doing all they can to outlast the condition of today’s economy. These hardworking employers know they need the right kind of help if they are to thrive. That’s why they believe immediate action is necessary to form bold clean energy policies that will prompt innovation, and in effect, stimulate small business and the economy.

In this tough economy, small business owners struggle just to keep their doors open, let alone turn a profit and create jobs. Nevertheless, the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in small businesses, and they know that to thrive we must create new opportunities and change with the times, which explains why they favor raising fuel efficiency standards by huge margins—a step some people have wrongly described as a job killer.

In March 2011, Small Business Majority and Pacific Community Ventures (PCV) released the results of a survey, commissioned by PCV, of 804 California small business owners with fewer than 20 employees on key provisions of the Affordable Care Act. It found that small business owners who currently don’t offer health insurance, along with those who do, are more likely to provide or continue to provide coverage because of the healthcare tax credits and state insurance exchange.

Small Business Majority released a national survey of 619 small business owners in January 2011 to gauge how entrepreneurs view two critical components of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: healthcare tax credits and insurance exchanges.

California’s Global Warming Solutions Act, commonly referred to as AB 32, calls for substantial reductions in the state’s carbon emissions. The impact it will have on the economy, and particularly on small businesses, has spurred tremendous debate as the law is being implemented.

The Clean Air Act is one of the nation's most important environmental laws. It directs the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop and enforce regulations addressing a wide range of air quality problems and challenges. However, the EPA’s authority has come under threat from members of Congress that would limit the Agency’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

Small business owners in Maine strongly believe the country needs to move toward clean energy and that new energy policies will transform the economy and help them create new jobs. They support comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation currently being discussed in the US Senate. Support for a climate and energy bill from Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins would be a winner with small business owners back home.

Small business owners in Massachusetts strongly believe the country needs to move toward clean energy and that new energy policies will transform the economy and help them create new jobs. They support comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation currently being discussed in the US Senate. Support for a climate and energy bill from Senators John Kerry and Scott Brown would be a winner with small business owners back home.